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Issues important to Teller County include:
Firefighting and Wildfire Mitigation
Forest management, forest fire fighting and mitigation of wildfire risks are
critically important to Teller County. The
Hayman Fire of June 2002 burned about 138,000 acres of forest land
over 20 days. The fire was the most expensive in Colorado history,
with costs estimated around $184 million. It
destroyed 600 structures, 132 of which were residences, and left 662 homes
in the midst of a burned out "moon-scape." About 61% of the
homes in unincorporated areas in Teller County are in regions rated as
having "high" or "extreme" wildfire danger (heavy fuels accumulation, steep
slopes). Click here to view/download the
Teller County Community Wildfire plan (warning: 4.3 Mb file!)
Education
Good schools are important to Teller County because education critically
affects an individual's prospects in life. Here are the school
accountability reports for the Cripple
Creek and Woodland Park
school districts.
Taxes
Property Taxes.
Unlike urban areas where a shopping center development has little impact on
area property taxes, in the smaller communities that characterize Teller
County, changes due to discrete economic developments (authorization of
casinos, building a WalMart, developing a shopping center) can have a
dramatic impact on the property taxes of the entire community.
Generally, property taxes are determined by the
assessed value
(which is based on market value) times the applicable mill levy for various
local taxing
authorities.
Gaming Taxes.
In addition to the property and income taxes applicable to all businesses,
casinos in Colorado pay gaming taxes up to 20% on gaming revenues.
Casinos in other gaming states with whom Colorado competes for investment
dollars (e.g., Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi) pay gaming taxes between 7% and
8% and Indian casinos pay no state gaming taxes. A comprehensive study
of the impact of gaming taxes on economic development was recently released
by the
American Gaming Association.
Income & Business Taxes.
Tax laws and regulations that burden small businesses (e.g.,
reporting/filing requirements, compliance with complex rules, etc.) affect a
significant portion of Teller County's residents. Most of the
businesses in Teller County are small businesses. Based on an analysis of
tax returns, the
US Census
estimates that about 2,500 individuals (home-based businesses with no
employees) and 650 businesses with less than 20 employees operate in Teller
County.
Housing
Affordable housing is an issue
in Teller County. The median sales price of houses in Teller County in
2005 was between $275,000 (new houses) and $191,300 (existing houses).
For families earning the median income (50% of families earn less, 50% earn
more), the maximum affordable house is estimated to be about $183,000.
Teller County and the cities of Cripple Creek, Victor and Woodland Park
recently commissioned a comprehensive study of
housing needs in Teller County. Among the findings of this study
was that the county will need to generate about 1,850 housing units in the
next ten years, and focus on housing affordable to lower income households.
Teller County representatives have participated on the Attorney General
John Suthers' task force dealing with
predatory lending and
foreclosure fraud.
Gambling Issues
Gambling is
important to Teller County's economy. Casinos currently operating in Cripple Creek have invested about
$229 million in their operations. They generate
about $149 million in gambling revenues, earn $16 million in food, beverage
and lodging revenues, pay $12 million in gaming taxes and employ about 2,700
persons with an annual payroll of about $27 million. By comparison,
the Colorado State Lottery, the gambling business owned by the State,
generates annual lottery sales of about $400 million. Studies of the
impacts of gaming on economic development and efforts to impose social
legislation on the industry (e.g., smoking bans applicable to
casinos) are often released by the
American Gaming Association.
Energy
Increases in the price of gasoline
disproportionately affects Teller County residents. About 59% of
workers who live in Teller County commute to work outside the county (about
10,000 workers). Fifty-two percent (52%) of commuters in Teller County
have one-way commutes of more than 26 miles. A trip to the grocery
store or to shop for clothing or necessities often requires travel to and
from Colorado Springs. Thirty five percent (35%) of the homes in Teller
County are heated with propane, the price of which is directly tied to the
price of gasoline.
Tourism Promotion
Issues affecting tourism are important
to Teller County. About
36% of the jobs in Teller County are related to tourism and visitors to the
county (compared with 4-5% of the jobs in El Paso, Pueblo, Douglas and Denver
counties). Fifteen percent (15%) of the homes in Teller County are seasonal
homes or occasional use cabins. Forest Service regulations that
restrict access to Teller County, such as the closing of the
Gold
Camp Road, or discourage visitation to Teller County harm Teller County.
Transportation
Public highway funding is important to
Teller County. Public roads are the arteries of rural Teller County --
they bring visitors into Teller County businesses and are the daily means
commuters use to go to and from their jobs. The experience of driving
through the mountains is often an attraction in itself that draws visitors to
the area. Much of the Teller County budget is spent on
transportation. Unlike urban areas, maintaining Teller County roads
requires significant expenditures to repair wash-outs and groom gravel roads,
repair rock slides, and open roads in mountainous winter snow storms.
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Teller
County Republicans
